Operations fully resume at 1st Air Force and the 601st Air Operations Center

Photo By Lt. Col. Andrew Scott | After 72 days operating from an alternate location due to Hurricane Michael, operations resumed Thursday evening at the Continental U.S. NORAD Region’s 601st Air Operations Center. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Maj. Andrew Scott)  

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, FL, UNITED STATES

12.20.2018

Courtesy Story

601st Air Operations Center

TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. -- Operational mission activities at 1st Air Force and the 601st Air Operations Center returned back to 100 percent Thursday at 9:27 p.m. after 72 days operating from an alternate location due to Hurricane Michael.

The Continental U.S. NORAD Region 601st AOC’s air defense mission was handed off to an alternate operations floor at Joint Base Langley-Eustis at 9:27 p.m. Oct. 9 ahead of Hurricane Michael to ensure that the Operation Noble Eagle mission continued uninterrupted.

“Operation Noble Eagle is a 24/7 no-fail mission and it was necessary to take every available action to ensure there was no interruption to our critical mission,” said Lt. Gen. R. Scott Williams, Continental U.S. NORAD Region commander. “The seamless transition from our operations at Langley to restoring operations here is a testament to the resiliency and professionalism of this enterprise.”

Members of First Air Force and 601st AOC worked the Continental U.S. NORAD Region’s air defense mission and Air Forces Northern defense support mission out of Joint Base Langley-Eustis for more than two months.


“When we saw that Hurricane Michael was headed for Tyndall, we moved a small contingency of people to Langley to ensure that there were zero interruptions in our no-fail NORAD mission of protecting the skies over the continental United States,” said Col. Michael Valle, 601st AOC commander. “It was a complex issue, the mission must go on, while also ensuring our families and homes were taken care of. I’m extremely proud of both our Langley and Tyndall teams for keeping the mission running and preparing the way for our mission to return home.”

First Air Force, headquartered at Tyndall AFB, Fla., serves as the Continental U.S. North American Aerospace Defense Command Region, or CONR, and as the air component for U.S. Northern Command, known as Air Forces Northern.

Co-located at Tyndall AFB, the 601st Air Operations Center plans, directs, and assesses air and space operations for CONR and AFNORTH. The AOC provides aerospace warning and control for NORAD Defensive Counter Air activities. Additionally, it directs Air Force air and space capabilities in support of USNORTHCOM homeland security and civil support missions. The AOC is primarily manned by the Florida Air National Guard’s 101st Air and Space Operations Group.

For more information on First Air Force or the 601st AOC visit www.facebook.com/FirstAirForce, www.facebook.com/AmericasAOC, or www.1af.acc.af.mil.

• Date Taken: 12.20.2018
• Date Posted: 01.02.2019 10:43
• Story ID: 306057
• Location: TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, FL, US